Epic Faillonaise
Posted by Heidi McDonald on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 @ 10:52 PM
(Section 3.1 and 3.2)
Loyal readers, I promised at the outset of this mission that I would write honestly about both my successes and my failures while trying to complete 230 Top Chef University Lessons in 230 Days. I experienced sweet success with my Soups unit, and fresh on the heels of that, I figured making homemade mayonnaise would be a walk in the park.
Unfortunately, the walk in the park it resembled was that one a couple years ago when Fletcher the Beagle pulled the leash so hard he landed me forward into a mud puddle…and I suspect the mud puddle would be more usable as mayonnaise than the drippy crud I ended up with.
It isn’t easy to admit failure, on the heels of success, and when Chef Spike makes it look so easy. Two ingredients. TWO. You’d think the girl who invented her own version of Maine lobster soup would be able to handle a couple of ingredients and a blender.
I was in my pajamas at 11:30 on a Thursday night, breaking my last two eggs and begging my recalcitrant ChefMate not to break my damned mayonnaise. I thought I followed the instructions, but…it was not to be.
Someone might mistake what I made for eggnog, but certainly not mayonnaise. Part of the problem is, two egg yolks do not fill the bottom of the blender well enough to get them blended to the level I need. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
There will be another try at mayonnaise at some point tomorrow, after I’ve purchased more eggs. Maybe Chef Spike’s secret is his hat…I’ll try wearing a fedora on my next attempt and see if it goes any better. I’ll try making it by hand with a whisk, and also re-try my blender experiment.
In other news, my mother returned from her trip to Mexico, and knowing I was dabbling in gazpacho, she’d had some there, so she could compare mine with the bowl she had in Puerto Vallarta. She took a photo of the authentic Mexican gazpacho.
Again, here was mine:
And here is the authentic Mexican dish served to my mom:
She decided that mine was the right color and consistency, and even taste, but wasn’t spicy enough. It was spicy enough when I made it fresh the other day…but somehow, it had calmed down while sitting in my fridge and needed more garlic and fresh ground black pepper to get it where it needed to be. So I can cling to that success until I have another one…hopefully, tomorrow.
Hungrily yours,
Heidi in Pittsburgh